Canon Jeffrey John says he is now celibate

They failed to persuade the Bishop of Oxford, Richard Harries, to reverse his decision to nominate Canon Jeffrey John as the new Bishop of Reading, in a three-hour meeting on Friday.

Bishop Harries emerged from the talks to reaffirm his "unswerving" support for Dr John, who is in a 27-year relationship with a man but says he is now celibate.

But his opponents, who number 80 clergy and 20 leading laity within the diocese of Oxford, promised to take their fight to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.

After the meeting, their spokesman, Dr Philip Giddings, said: "We feel this appointment would be catastrophic in terms of the unity of the Church of England."

We're talking about people who are seeking to listen to the Word of God rather than the voice of culture Reverend David Banting Reform Head to head

He said the Anglican community would be "split asunder" and the diocese of Oxford would become separated - a hint the group may withhold funding from the diocese and seek pastoral care elsewhere.

Dr Giddings, a licensed lay minister at Greyfriars Church, Reading, said the nomination contravened scripture, 2,000 years of Christian tradition and the "divinely created order and gift of marriage".

But minutes later, Bishop Harries said: "In my judgement, he [Dr John] has the very best gifts to be the next Bishop of Reading.

"And I sincerely believe that before very long, he will have done enough to earn the trust of that Episcopal area.

"My support for him remains unswerving."

The Bishop of Oxford is responsible for Dr John's appointment

Earlier, Dr John described his relationship as a "gift from God", in a statement on the Diocese of Oxford website.

Although he says the relationship is now celibate, those opposed to his appointment are angry that he has failed to express regret.

In his statement he described his "life partnership" with another man as a "gift and vocation from God".

He said he respected those who opposed him, but wanted to alleviate their concerns.

"My own view is that there is a sound argument from scripture and tradition in favour of Christians accepting same-sex relationships, provided they are based on a personal covenant of lifelong faithfulness" he said.

On Thursday, Archbishop Peter Akinola, leader of the 17.5 million strong Anglican church in Nigeria, threatened to split from the Church over the appointment.